definition for: #Hamas

The Palestinian Sunni Islamic political party that rules the Gaza Strip.

The word ?hamas? means ?zeal? in Arabic, and it is also an acronym for ?arakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, or ?Islamic Resistance Movement.? The organization was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Muslim organization based in Egypt. From the beginning, the founders of Hamas were very clear about the goals of the organization, and as of 2008, the organization had at least 1,000 active members, along with large numbers of supporters, including Palestinian expatriates all over the world.